Got A Secret, Can You Keep It?
by Fangirl.StarterPack
Summary: Two families, both alike in stubbornness. In Walford London, where we lay our scene... Blah, blah, blah. Everyone knows the boring story of Romeo and Juliet, but nobody knows the Walford twist. The Mitchell's and the Branning's have never gotten along, but when young love starts to blossom, will their families tear them apart? Or will true love conquer all? R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Abi Branning was a quiet girl. Well, when living in a house with a rebellious sister and constantly arguing parents, you kind of have to be. Not that Abi minded. Everyone is different in the Branning family. Her mum is kind, but is more wrapped up in her beauty business than any other aspect of her life. Her dad is funny, but is always looking for a fight. And her sister is the most controversial person she's ever met. That's not even bringing into account her aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins… They're all different and weird, but Abi wouldn't have it any other way. And they all had one thing in common – they hated the Mitchell's. Well, Abi didn't. Abi didn't _hate_ anyone. But the rivalry between the two families had been passed down through generations and there was no way Abi was going to put herself in the firing line to rebel against it. I mean, it's not like Abi ever needed to speak to the Mitchell's anyway. She had her friends, they had theirs.

So, when she woke up on the 16th of July in 2014, she never expected the day to go any differently to the way her days normally went. She did what she normally did in the morning: bashed her hand against the screen of her phone in an attempt to shut off her alarm until she got scared that she was going to break it and eventually got up, brushed her teeth and got ready for school, and left the house with her stacks of revision firmly in her bag. As both her parents were out and her sister wouldn't be awake until at least midday, Abi thought it would be best to grab breakfast at the café – considering last time she tried to make toast she nearly set everyone in her house on fire. Besides, her aunt worked at the café and she would be sure to stitch her up with a nice bacon roll before school.

As she walked into the café and queued up behind _the_ Jay Mitchell, she tried hard to become completely invisible. You see, the Mitchell boys, Jay and Ben, carried the grudge between the two families like they were there when it actually started. Therefore, Abi was usually the punchline to any of their jokes and teases – or just at the end of their punches in general. Abi just chose to ignore it, but sometimes the things they said really got to her. When they took the piss out of her weight or her 'nerdyness', she would notice that she became slightly quieter or even had a little cry to herself when she was on her own. Although she didn't want to sound big headed, she wasn't used to people disliking her. It's how she survived on a daily bases. She had to make people at least feel like they were on a civil base with her in order to not have them smash her head in. The fact that these boys did not even want to breathe the same air as Abi really got under her skin. Sadly, it was just a factor she had to live with.

While she stood there trying to blend in with the ugly interior, she couldn't help but overhear Jay and her aunt, Karen, having a rather heated conversation about the price of his tea and sausage sandwich. Now, Abi was not the type of person to nosey in on other people's business, but Jay was getting considerably louder and was making it a lot harder to ignore. She honestly tried to focus on something else – anything else – but in the end she just gave up.

"I can pay for the rest after work!" Jay exclaimed angrily, slamming his hand on the counter.

"I'm not allowed to give out loans, Jay. I'm sorry, but it's not up to me," Karen tried to remind him reasonably, but Jay wasn't having any of it.

"This is such bullshit!" It was at this point Abi thought it would be a good idea to step in.

"I can pay for it," she chipped in quietly, causing both Jay and Karen to look at her in shock. She immediately wished she hadn't butted in and that she'd just let Karen kick Jay out. She thought she'd just made matters worse for herself, that Jay was going to go back to Ben and then they were going to wait for her after school like they did on her first say of year seven. But, instead, Jay just rolled his eyes.

"I don't need charity, Branning," Jay mumbled, being stubborn as per usual. Abi reluctantly stepped forward next to him, pulling a five pound note out of her purse and placing it in front of her aunt. Her aunt sceptically took it and gave Abi back the change. Once Jay had picked up his food, Abi started to follow him out of the café until her aunt's voice stopped her.

"Didn't you want anything, Abi?"

"N-No thanks. I'm not hungry," Abi lied through her teeth, but she didn't have enough money to buy something after she had paid for Jay's breakfast. She quickly scurried out of there before she could be questioned further and was surprised to be met with Jay Mitchell, waiting outside for her.

"I'll pay you back tomorrow," he said sternly, obviously not doing it out of kindness.

"Oh, you don't have to. I didn't mind," Abi tried to assure him, ringing her hands nervously in front of her.

"Yeah? Well I do mind. I don't want to feel like I owe you something."

"You don't want to owe me anything? Or you don't want to owe a Branning anything?" Abi scoffed, watching Jay roll his eyes before turning to walk away.

"Why do you hate me so much? What did _I_ ever do to you?" Abi called after him, her words causing him to stop in his tracks. For a moment, she thought he was actually going to give her a reason. She thought he was actually going to give her the answer to the question she had never been able to figure out. But Jay just resumed stride and walked away from her, leaving Abi even more annoyed than she would normally be on a Monday morning before school.


	2. Chapter 2

School had been relatively normal for Abi. It was filled with the same out of stress and irritation as it usually had. She had four pieces of homework to do by Friday as well as her science coursework and the revision she had to do for her English exam. Abi tried her hardest to stay positive, but she could already feel the headache coming on. Bernadette was even getting on her nerves as she chattered on about some meaningless topic while Abi leant her head against the bus window. All Abi wanted to do was go to bed, but when she saw Jay Mitchell stood at her bus stop she knew things were only about to get worse.

She held her chin up as she stepped off the bus and felt it pull away behind her. She looked at the boy in front of her, stood in navy overalls covered in grease marks and his hair slightly messy, and couldn't help but think he looked quite… handsome? No. That couldn't be right. Abi did _not_ think Jay Mitchell was handsome. Abi _hated_ Jay Mitchell. Well, Abi didn't _hate_ anyone, but she disliked him very much.

"Scabi, stop staring at me."

Abi was snapped out her trance when she heard the God-awful nickname. That's right. _That's_ the Jay Mitchell she knew. The Jay Mitchell that made her blood boil and her teeth grind. She clenched her jaw and glared in his direction, wanting to completely forget about her previous thoughts. She pushed her nose into the air and _hmphed_ quite loudly before striding in the direction of her house.

"Don't you want your money back, Branning?" Jay asked, moving quickly in order to catch up to her.

"I told you this morning, Jay. You don't owe me anything," Abi reminded him moodily, still not slowing her pace.

"Why did you do it?" Jay asked, spinning Abi round by her shoulder and forcing her to face him. "Why would you help me? In front of your own family? We hate each other and-"

"You see, Jay, that's where you're mistaken," Abi confirmed, eyes locked with his. "I do not hate you at all. Just because our families dislike each other doesn't mean _I_ have to be involved in it. Neither do you. You just choose to be. And that's fine – I don't exactly have a burning desire to be friends with you. And I don't need your money either, so just leave me alone."

Jay watched Abi walk away, but couldn't shake off her words. Did Jay really have any right to be angry at the Branning's when they hadn't done anything specifically bad to him? And, if Abi could ignore the feud, then why couldn't he?

…

A few hours after Jay and Abi's little discussion, Jay and Ben decided they would go to The Vic for a few pints and to watch the horrendous karaoke they put on every Monday evening. As they opened the doors, they could hear Alfie singing badly to the cheesy tune of Sweet Caroline. He had Cat clutched in his arms, swaying to the music as she tried to break free from his death grip. It was surprising that Jay could look around the room and see nearly everyone was having a really good time – especially since it was a Monday. Everyone looked happy… Except for a certain blonde sat at the bar, sipping on her lemonade.

Ben went to grab the two of them a table as Jay made his way to the bar, squeezing next to Abi as he waited for Tracey to finish serving a rather large group of builders. Abi didn't even seem to notice that Jay was stood there. Instead, her eyes were glaring down at the book in front of her, the tip of her pen pressing down and lifting off of the answer line on a specific question, creating ink splodges the size of a five pence coin.

Jay could quite easily see that she didn't know the answer. Jay thought the question was quite easy: _**Name one occupation that would use the method of job production.**_ I mean, fixing cars was his line of work and he knew that he couldn't start one car until he'd finished another one. And if he knew that, Abi should definitely be able to think of a profession that does the same thing.

"Struggling there, Scabi?" He teased, noticing her eyes roll into the back of her head in annoyance.

"I'm doing just fine, thank you, Jay," she replied through gritted teeth, not lifting her eyes from the page.

"Is that so?" Jay prodded. "Because I could always help you if you were struggling."

"Well, I would ask, but I wouldn't want to feel like I owed you something," Abi retorted, making Jay smirk. _Rather witty today, aren't we, Abi?_

"It's alright – my knowledge is free."

He went on to explain to her that his job used this method of production and how it worked. She listened very intently; eyebrows creasing at certain points, sometimes nodding in agreement, occasionally writing down notes. He hadn't noticed before, but her eyes were the most beautiful green. They just reminded him of autumn and he found himself struggling to keep on track when he looked at them. And her smile made a weird feeling in his stomach that he couldn't quite explain. The even weirder thing was he kind of liked it.

"So, um… Yeah. That's it basically…" Jay finished awkwardly, scrubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Instead of taking the piss out of him, Abi beamed at him brightly, making Jay feel liked he accomplished something.

"Thank you so much, Jay," she said happily, closing her book and turning around to face him fully. "I guess we're even now."

"I thought you didn't care about being even," Jay said, meaning it to be a joke.

"I don't. But now you don't have to feel like you owe me, the abominable Branning," Abi smiled shyly, shoving her books into her bag. Jay felt kind of guilty at this point. He didn't know Abi thought he thought so low of her. To be completely honest, Jay really didn't have a problem with Abi at all.

"You're not abo- abon- whatever you said," Jay said, making Abi giggle. "If it makes you feel better, you're probably the best Branning there is."

"Thanks, Jay," Abi responded, blushing a little bit. It was at this point someone singing Madonna had descended from the stage (thank God) and Alife had taken the mic again.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen! Who's next?.. Come on, don't be shy!.. Okay, how about… Abi! Yes, you, Abi! Come on up!"

Abi looked at the stage in complete horror and then at the people around her who were all staring. Jay could see Ben looking at him with a confused expression. Out of the two of them, Ben was definitely the one to carry a heavier grudge against the Branning's and was no doubt about to fire a billion questions at Jay when he finally sat down.

Meanwhile, Jay's drinks were in front of him and Abi was being pulled up to the stage by Alfie and Ian, pleading for them to not make her do this. Jay decided that it would be best not to help her – even though he wanted to – as his brother was still looking at him. Instead, he grabbed the drinks and went and sat down at the table Ben had found.

"What were you doing talking to Scabi Branning?" Ben spat, disgusted that the word 'Branning' had just come out of his mouth. Jay resisted the urge to roll his eyes and brought his voice down to a whisper as the backing track started.

"Just winding her up, Benny-Boy. Don't get your knickers in a twist. Now shut up and let me watch this train wreck," Jay lied. Ben didn't seem convinced, but decided to let it go and turn his attention to the shaking girl on the stage.

Abi never sung outside of her bedroom. She had done a performance in the square once when she was about eight, but now she was nearly seventeen and even though her voice had considerably improved, she didn't have the confidence to stand up stage and sing in front of all of her neighbours. She'd chosen a song that had been playing constantly on the radio for the past two week and she hadn't been able to get it out of her head since she'd first heard it. She wasn't particularly good at singing extremely fast songs so this song was good for her. She didn't want to make a complete tit of herself in front of all these people.

The backing track started and her hands began to sweat. She knew that two of the Mitchell's were watching and that if she slipped up this would held against her for the rest of her life. And, even though she would never admit it, she kind of wanted to impress Jay. He'd certainly impressed her with his business skills and since it was so important to him for them to be even, it was her turn. Eventually it got to the first verse and Abi started singing.

" _You and me we made a vow. For better or for worse…"_

As soon as Abi opened her mouth, Jay was entranced. He just stared at her dumbly and let her voice fill everything. In that moment, it was like nothing else existed. He had no idea she was good at singing, let alone _that_ good. It was intoxicating. The way her lips moved as she pronounced each word, the way her voice broke at the perfect point… He was drunk on Abi Branning. He never thought in the whole of his life he would ever say that sentence. God, he thought Ben was going to lean over and kill him for even thinking of it.

As the song finished, Abi quickly ran off the stage and grabbed her bag before anyone had a chance to congratulate her on her performance. She sped out of the pub before Jay could even start clapping. He felt the urge to go after her, be he knew it wouldn't go down well if Ben found out he was starting to like someone with Branning genes. So he sat there in his seat, sipping his beer like nothing had happened, but he knew deep down that this was only the start of what had just begun.

(Authors Notes: The song was I Know I'm Not The Only One by Sam Smith, but the Ella Henderson cover. watch?v=KJf9NI1DvVg )


	3. Chapter 3

As Abi burst through the front door, she could hear the sound of blaring heavy metal music coming from the living room. Lauren was obviously awake. Abi slipped her coat off and threw her bag on the stairs as she tried to catch her breath. She made her way into the living room to find Lauren with her feet on the coffee table, painting her toenails with a bottle of Jack Daniels next to her. Abi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, glaring at the side of her sister's head.

"I see you've had a very productive day," Abi scoffed sarcastically, watching her sister's eyes try to focus.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Lauren slurred, taking another swig from the bottle.

"I live here," Abi reminded her sassily, looking around the room for her brother. When she couldn't see him, she turned back to Lauren. "Where's Oscar?"

"Playing in his room," Lauren sneered, turning the awful music up even louder. _She does know we have neighbours, right?_ Abi rolled her eyes again and made her way up the stairs to Oscar's room.

Abi peaked into Oscar's room, expecting to see him playing on the floor with his train set. It used to be Abi's and she could remember having so much fun with it as a kid. She was happy to give it to Oscar, the only other sane person in her family, so he could experience the same joy she had with it. However, Oscar wasn't playing in his room. Oscar wasn't even _in_ his room.

"Oscar?" Abi called throughout the house. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she could feel the worry starting to rise within her. She checked her parent's room next, under the bed and in the wardrobe, but he wasn't there. She checked the bathroom, but he wasn't in there either. Her room, Lauren's room. Both empty. Abi was panting frantically. She couldn't breathe. Where was he? He was four years old; he couldn't have just left the house. He couldn't even reach the latch on the front door.

"Lauren!" Abi yelled as she ran back down the stairs and slid into the living room. Her sister looked up at her with a pissed off expression, but Abi was too nervous to care. "He's not upstairs. Are you sure you were watching him?"

"Of course I was _watching_ him! I'm not completely incapabable of looking after my little brother," Lauren stumbled, shooting for her seat and spilling alcohol all over the floor. Abi resisted the urge to tut at her sister's pronunciation of the word 'incapable'. _You're not even capable of looking after yourself, let alone a four year old._

"Just help me find him!" Abi ordered, leaving the room and towards the kitchen. Abi stopped in her tracks when she saw that the back door had been left open. Her heart stopped beating and it took all of her strength to stay on her feet. She rushed out the back door, searching frantically to no avail.

"Oscar?! Oscar, where are you?!" Abi choked out in sheer panic. She ran back into the house to see Lauren stood in the hallway looking slightly worried. Abi pushed past her and quickly grabbed her phone out of her bag.

"Abi, where is he?!" Lauren shouted.

"Call mum and tell her she needs to come home now! And then call the police and tell them a four year old boy has gone missing!" Abi screamed at her sister in anger, before running out the front door and slamming it shut behind her.

…

Abi ran down the street, shouting her brother's name as people looked at her like she was insane. She checked the playground and didn't find him. She ran into the shop and found nothing, leaving Denise very confused. She even checked the laundrette, but couldn't find him. She was crying and shaking, but she couldn't give up. She had to find him. He was her brother and anything could have happened. If he was hurt in any way she would never forgive herself.

The last place she could check was The Vic. As she stumbled through the doors she could tell that the karaoke was still in full swing. Heather was on the stage singing a George Michael song, but Abi could barely hear it over the blood rushing in her ears. Abi pushed herself to the bar and accidently caught a glimpse of Jay, who was stood with Ben, but was looking at Abi like she was crazy. She didn't care. She didn't have _time_ to care. She just needed to find Oscar.

"You alright, Abi?" Alfie asked from behind the bar, looking at her in confusion.

"Has Oscar come in here? Please tell me you've seen him. Please, Alfie…" Abi rushed out, crumbling under the fear.

"Okay, okay. Slow down. I haven't seen him. Why, is there a problem?" Alfie tried to sound comforting, but it was at that point when something in Abi broke.

"Oh God," she sobbed, crying into her forearms as she gripped her hair until it hurt. What was she going to do? How could this happen? How could Lauren be so stupid?

"Abs, are you okay?" Fatboy asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Tamwar leaned in; trying to understand what was going on. Jay and Ben had even moved round to hear the gossip. She told herself that she would be bitter about it later.

"I-It's Oscar. H-He got out of the h-house and I c-can't find him. I-I can't f-find him. I-I can't-" Abi's breathing was erratic. She couldn't focus. This was all of her fault. Her brother could be dead and it was all her fault.

"Okay, Abi? Abi! Look at me!" Fatboy yelled, shaking her shoulders roughly. "We'll find him, okay? I promise you, we'll find him." He looked at Tamwar who nodded in agreement. "Jay and Ben will help and we'll speak to Billy and Kim and-"

"Woah, woah. Who said we were helping?" Ben butted in, glaring at Abi with pure hatred. Everyone looked at him in shock, even Jay whose emotions had just changed from worry to 'kill mode'. "He's a Branning. We don't help any of your kind."

"Ben, please. He's just a kid. He doesn't know anything. I'll be forever in your debt just… Please help me find my brother," Abi begged as more tears threatened to spill over. She'd never been so desperate in her life.

"We'll help. Of course we'll help. Ben can go with Billy to check The Arches. You and Tam go search the market. Get Kim and anyone who wants to help to look around here. Alfie, you keep an eye out to see if he comes in here. Me and Abi will look around the park. Let's go," Jay ordered, quickly downing the rest of his pint and watching everyone scurry off.

"What did you do that for?" Ben whispered harshly, gripping Jay's arm tightly. Jay just shrugged him off.

"He's a kid, Ben. He never did anything to us. And next time, speak for yourself because I certainly don't need you to speak for me."

…

"This is hopeless," Abi sighed in despair, collapsing on a nearby bench and putting her head in her hands. It was starting to get dark now and Oscar was still nowhere to be seen. Abi was starting to lose hope. What would she do when her parents found out? They'd probably disown her. More arguments, more tears. Abi wasn't sure she could take it.

"Don't say that, we'll find him," Jay assured, sitting next to her and rubbing her back comfortingly.

"I'm a horrible sister," Abi whispered, wiping away a few stray tears.

"Come on, Abs," Jay said, trying to get her to face him. "You're the only reason your family functions properly. Without you everything will fall apart between them. And Oscar is lucky to have a sister like you."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Abi asked, seeming like she actually wanted to know the answer.

"Because someone needs to be," Jay smiles, nudging her slightly. "What happened anyway?"

"Lauren… She just-" Abi cuts herself off mid-sentence. Jay doesn't need to know about Abi's family life. He probably doesn't care. And Abi knows Lauren says she doesn't have a drinking problem and that she probably wouldn't like it if Abi started spreading that rumour around. "She just had other things on her mind."

"Things that are more important than your little brother?" Jay muttered, looking away.

"That's not fair," Abi warned, but Jay wasn't looking. Jay was too busy staring at the little boy sitting in the middle of the road opposite where they were sat. And when he looked closely, he could see that little boy was Oscar Branning.

"Abi… Look…" Jay whispered, pointing towards Oscar. Abi gasped in shock before jumping from her seat and started running towards the road, Jay following closely behind her.

As they got closer to him, Abi saw a pair of headlights coming round the corner. There was no way they were going to see Oscar sat in the road. She couldn't watch her brother die. Not after she'd just found him. Abi sped up, running through the pain of her aching lungs and sore knees. The car got closer and Jay stopped, expecting Abi to do the same. Instead, Abi grabbed Oscar from the road and jumped out of the way of the speeding car, the side mirror smashing into the elbow. Jay turned away as the car screeched to a halt, not being able to look at accident. Abi landed on the floor hard, crying out as her knees scraped against the gravel and she landed on her already injured elbow. She fell on her back with Oscar held to her chest, breathing heavily and trying to ignore the pain. The driver of the car slammed their hand on the horn before speeding off, not caring about the damage they'd done.

Jay sped across the distance between them, falling on his knees next to Abi and Oscar. He noticed the blood on her knees first, the skin shredded and her jeans torn. He then looked at her elbow, the bone popping out in a way that made him feel nauseous. And then he noticed Oscar, who was completely fine, and it made him want to thank God that there were people like Abi Branning in the world who were willing to sacrifice themselves for others.

"Oscar? Oscar, are you okay?" Abi panicked, shaking the small boy slightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can we go see mummy now?" Oscar said, looking up at Abi with big innocent eyes.

"Yeah… Yeah of course we can, but you have to promise me you will never run off again, okay?" Abi said, voice shaking as the adrenaline started to wear off.

"I don't like it when Lauren drinks her medicine. It makes her weird," Oscar replied, making Abi wince.

"What medicine?" Jay butts in, looking at Abi suspiciously.

"It's nothing. Come on, Oscar, let's get you home," Abi said, kissing his head and trying to stand up. Jay caught her when she stumbled, getting her to lean on him to take the pressure off of her knees.

"Abi, I'm taking you to The Vic so Sonya can look you over," Jay said, moving her so her bad arm was untouched and so she was leaning against his side.

"No, Jay, I'm fine," Abi tried to convince him.

"No, buts. Come on, Oscar. I'll buy you a lemonade."


	4. Chapter 4

Jay and Abi stumbled back into The Vic, Abi trying not to cry out in pain with ever step. Jay quickly helped her onto a barstool, calling Sonia over while taking care of Oscar. He picked up Oscar, placing him on the bar next to Abi as Sonia grabbed the first aid kit from Kat. Alfie went off the call the others to tell them that they'd found Oscar while Sonia got to work.

"Abi, I need you to tell me exactly where it hurts," Sonia commanded, dabbing her knees with an antiseptic wipe. Abi grabbed Jay's hand with her good arm, squeezing when it hurt. Jay tried to ignore the warm feeling he got when his hand joined hers. He tried to tell himself that it didn't mean anything, but he was finding it harder to lie to himself. To distract himself, he told Sonia everything the happened, ignoring Abi as she rolled her eyes and told him that he was overdramatising the event.

After Sonia had gotten all the grit out of Abi's knees, she used the bandage scissors to cut away the fabric of her jeans before wrapping up the weeping grazes. Then she turned her attention to her elbow. The entire area had turned lilac as the bone pressed oddly against the skin. She asked Abi to try and move it, but when she did it felt like she was cutting through the joint with a blunt blade.

"I think it's popped out of place," she concluded after analysing the bone for a little while longer. "Do you want me to pop it back into place?"

"How bad is it going to hurt?" Abi asked, cursing herself for sounding so weak. Jay rubbed his thumb over her knuckles and it was only at this point she realised they were holding hands. It felt… Nice. She didn't want to think like though. Even though Jay had been nice to her, she knew that it wouldn't say like this. Tomorrow, he and Ben would be back to tormenting her. Everything would be back to normal.

"It normally hurts quite a bit," Sonia told her. "It's probably best if you try to distract yourself." Abi nodded, letting out a shaky breath and smiling at Oscar who was now looking at her intently.

"It's alright, Ozzy," Abi said. "Aunty Sonia's going to make everything better." Abi turned to look at Jay, who was smiling at her for some reason. She tried to control her blush as she unwound her fingers from his hand. "You don't have to hold my hand," she muttered quietly. She was quite surprised when Jay's hand latched onto hers again, lacing his fingers through hers so she couldn't pull away.

"It, um, it's okay. I don't mind," he replied awkwardly, looking down at his feet. Abi squeezed his hand, smiling at him as he looked up again. The smile quickly turned into a cry of pain as she felt her joints click back into place. She squeezed Jay's hand so hard that she thought she might break the bones in it. When the pain subsided, she loosened her grip.

"I-I'm so sorry," Abi started, looking at the nail marks engraved into Jay's flesh.

"It's alright, Wolverine," he groaned and laughed at the same time, watching as tiny dots of crimson rose to the surface.

Just then, part of the Mitchell family – Ben, Phil, and Sharon – as well as the rest of Abi's family –Lauren, Tanya, and Max – all came running into the pub. Jay yanked his hand away from Abi's before she even had time to react, trying not to let the action hurt her when she came to her senses. She watched as Lauren stood nervously in the doorway, the actions that had taken place over the past hour and a half obviously sobering her up. Meanwhile, Ben was shooting daggers at Jay, steam practically pouring out of his ears.

"Oscar!" Tanya cried as she picked her son off the bar and hugged him close. "Someone better tell me what happened right now!"

Jay noticed Lauren looking at Abi, pleading with her not to say anything. Jay didn't exactly know what the deal was with Lauren, but it was quite clear that her parents didn't know about it. Abi sighed, turning to her furious mother.

"It was my fault," she started, the lie running off her tongue like she'd said it a million times before. "I must have left the backdoor open this morning when I left for school. It was an accident."

Jay looked at her with a shocked and slightly angry expression. Was she seriously going to take the blame for this when she was the one who had saved Oscar in the first place? Was Lauren going to just stand there and let her do this? He was going to say something, but Tanya was already throwing a million punishments at her for being 'neglectful'. Jay rolled his eyes; now realising he was also being glared at by Max for standing next to his daughter.

"Yeah, well, she's also the reason he's not dead so why don't you cut her some slack?" Jay grumbled, cutting off Tanya's rant. The entire Mitchell family looked at him in surprise as Max looked ready to murder him.

"Did anyone ask for your opinion?" Max spat, causing Jay to roll his eyes again.

"Don't speak to him like that," Phil replied harshly, a fight looking like it was about to break out.

"Dad, Jay was the one who helped me find Oscar in the first place so I really don't see how can stand there and say anything bad to him. It's not like you were around to take care of _your_ son," Abi scoffed, making Jay smirk as Max's mouth dropped open.

"Abi, apologise to your father right now," Tanya warned.

"No! This is ridiculous!" Abi exclaimed, pushing herself off the bar stool. It hurt to stand up, but she wasn't going to just sit here and listen to this. "I swear, none of you have two brain cells to rub together. Your son could have died today and you're more worried about that fact that I was helped by a Mitchell," she accused her father, pointing her finger at him. "And yeah, I nearly died too, mum. Thanks for the concern," she tutted, moving towards the door. "So, if you all want to sit around having a slamming match, be my guest. But I'm not sticking around to listen to it." She paused in the doorway, turning around to look at Jay. "And thank you, Jay, for helping me. I couldn't have done it without you," she smiled at him, watching as he tried not blush. "You too, Ben. Thank you," she added, before finally giving one last look at Jay. "I owe you one."

And with that, she left.

Abi was sat in her room, listening to her iPod while doing her Spanish homework. Her parents and siblings had come through the door shortly after her, the screaming and shouting commencing pretty much straight away. She'd just plugged her headphones in and put on her 'hippie music', as Lauren called it. She knew Oscar would have been sent to his room and Lauren would either be trying to defuse the situation or downing a bottle of vodka in her room. This situation had taken place so many times in the Branning household that she'd just gotten used to it.

She was nearly done with her Spanish when Lauren walked into her room. She pulled off her headphones as Lauren quietly shut the door, leaning against the wall. She eyed Abi sceptically, wondering if she was trying to hide something from her. Abi was angry at Lauren, but she didn't need any more aggression in the house right now. So instead, she stared at Lauren with a raised eyebrow, waiting to hear what she wanted now.

"Why'd you do it?" Lauren asked, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes. Abi could see that she hadn't had anything else to drink. Whether that was to do with the fact that she felt guilty or that she'd run out, Abi didn't know.

"I didn't think you would want the entire square knowing that you're an alcoholic," Abi shrugged, putting the cap on her pen.

"I am _not_ and alcoholic," Lauren whispered harshly, leaning forward to try to intimidate Abi.

"Prove it," Abi shot back, making Lauren's eyes widen in astonishment.

"Excuse me?"

"If you're not an alcoholic, then prove it. Stop drinking and I'll believe you," Abi challenged. Lauren tried to argue back, opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish. But she knew Abi had trapped her. Abi knew there was no way Lauren would give up drinking. No, Lauren was far too selfish to do that. So she watched as Lauren exhaled deeply, pursing her lips as she hauled the door open.

"Have fun being grounded," she sneered before slamming Abi's door.

Meanwhile, at the Mitchell house, Ben was hounding Jay about what had happened with Abi. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her – what he felt for her. Were they friends now? No, they couldn't be. Max and Phil would never allow it. But he had worried about her when she ran out into the road. And he hadn't wanted her to let go of his hand. He probably would have kept hold of it if their families hadn't barged in on their moment. Did it mean that he liked her? Was he allowed to like her? After all, she was still a Branning…

"Jay, are you even listening to me?!" Ben exclaimed in a whisper, punching Jay's shoulder as they sat on his bed in his room. Jay snapped out of his thoughts, sighing at his brother's ridiculousness.

"Ben, I already told you. I just helped her find her brother and then I helped her back to the Vic. Nothing else happened, okay?" Jay groaned, lying back on his bed.

"If nothing happened, then why were you practically sat on top of her when we came in?" Ben pressed, annoying Jay even more.

"You're being stupid. You know it wasn't like that," Jay scoffed.

"We don't like or help the Branning's. We're Mitchells, Jay," Ben reminded him persistently.

"Yeah, well that doesn't mean that we have to be dickheads to everyone, does it?" Jay shot up, glaring at Ben for being so harsh. The girl had nearly died, for Christ's sake. He couldn't just leave her to fend for herself.

"I don't want to see you near her again, do you hear me?" Ben seethed, rising to his feet.

"Loud and clear, Captain Twat," Jay mocked, making Ben even angrier.

"I mean it, Jay. This isn't a joke. If I catch you near her again, it's no longer just your problem."


	5. Chapter 5

After school the next day, Abi was sat on the floor in the laundrette with her headphones on. She'd just had enough time to get changed when she got in before she was sent to do the washing as part of her 'punishment' from yesterday's events. She didn't exactly mind doing the washing and she definitely didn't see it as a punishment. Even though she had a tonne of school work to do, she found doing to laundry quite relaxing. She hadn't even noticed Jay walking through the door, what with her music being up so loud. It was quite late, so she was normally the only person in here at this time. She never expected anyone to come in. That's why she jumped out of her skin when she felt two hands cover her eyes. She looked up to see Jay smiling down at her, his bag of dirty washing sitting by his feet.

"You scared me half to death," she laughed, watching as he knelt down next to her.

"Sorry, Scabi," he replied, wincing at the nickname. "Sorry, I didn't mean to call you that. Force of habit, I guess."

"It's fine," Abi shrugged. "It's actually quite a good piece of creative wordplay considering it came from someone with your intelligence," she added jokingly, making him chuckle.

"Touché," he replied, separating the lights from the darks.

Just then, Dot came bounding round the corner, shaking her head profusely. Abi and Jay looked at each other before looking back at the elderly woman, both of them confused. She stood over them with her hands on her hips, obviously unhappy with something.

"Now, if you two are going to start fighting, both of you can leave. I don't want any arguing in my laundrette," she insisted, tapping her foot against the lino flooring. Abi quickly reassured her Grandmother, smiling up at her like butter wouldn't melt.

"It's okay, Grandma. We're…" Abi drifted off, looking at Jay for some kind of clarification. What _were_ they now? Friends? Acquaintances? Abi didn't know. And she definitely didn't want to assume. "We're fine," she completed. Dot sighed at the two of them, shaking her head.

"Your families would not be happy about this," she fretted, still shaking her head.

"Please don't tell them, Dot. We're not going to fight," Jay almost pleaded. He really wanted to spend some time with Abi and he had no intention in causing any trouble. But, if the rumour got round that the two of them were starting some kind of relationship, both of them would be dead meat.

"Okay," Dot gave in. "But if I hear any bad language between the two of you, I'll have you out by your ears."

"Thanks, Grandma," Abi smiled, watching the woman leave the room.

"So, how are your injuries?" Jay asked, shoving shirts into the washing machine.

"They're not too bad. As you can see, I can't kneel," she replied, gesturing to her position with her legs splayed out in front of her, sat sideways. "But other than that, my elbow's just a bit sore. Nothing life threatening."

"And you're here as part of your punishment?" Jay continued.

"Well, I'd hardly call it a punishment."

"Well, considering you'd done nothing wrong, I would," Jay pressed, watching as she looked at her lap for an invisible thread. "Why'd you lie for her, Abi?"

"It's none of your business," Abi sighed. "Lauren didn't do it on purpose. She just-"

"'Had other things on her mind'? That's what you told me."

"I don't want to talk about this," Abi said, ending the conversation. They sat in silence until Jay couldn't bear it, deciding to change the subject.

"You look nice," he murmured, taking in her ponytail, floral dress, and Converse. He smiled slightly as she blushed.

"Shut up," she said with a breathy laugh, pulling on her manky leggings she was wearing under her dress because she couldn't find tights. She didn't have time to find a nice outfit to wear – her dad wanted her out of the house as quick as possible.

"I'm being serious," he replied, laughing back. He looked down at her iPod that had been left discarded after he walked in. "I also didn't get to tell you how amazing you were the other night at karaoke."

"Oh, please. Now you are being stupid," she scoffed, shoving more clothes into the machine.

"Are you joking? Everyone in there was amazed – including me. I had no idea you could sing like that. Why haven't you done any of the school productions and stuff like that?"

"Because I'm not good enough," she replied, and when Jay tried to interrupt, she just couldn't let him. "No, Jay, you don't get it. The girls who get the lead parts at school… They're stunning. And they can dance and they can act as well as all the singing on top. If I walked in there – frumpy little Abi Branning – they'd laugh me out the door."

Jay couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could Abi see herself this way? How could she not see that she was one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen? That was before he even mentioned her voice. She was good enough to be in the charts – let alone in some crappy school play. Her voice put him in a trance the other night and he would do anything to feel it again. Then there was her personality: kind, sweet, funny. She was just the perfect package. Abi Branning was good enough to do _anything_ she wanted, so Jay didn't understand where all this negativity had come from.

Just then, Dot walked in with her handbag and unlit cigarette in hand. She looked at the two of them, surprised that they hadn't ripped each other's hair out. She smiled to herself – maybe this would be the end of this stupid war the two families had been chewing over for years. She'd been there when it all started, but she thought it would have all blown over by now. Maybe it would be these two who could change everything.

"Well, I'll be off now you two," she said, making the two of them jump. "I've just left the keys on the side. Would you lock up for me, Abi, dear?"

"Of course, Grandma. Have a nice evening," Abi smiled, watching as the women walked out of the laundrette, leaving her and Jay completely alone.

"Sing for me," Jay said as soon as the door closed, making Abi's eyes widen.

"Excuse me?"

"Sing for me. I'll tell you if you're good enough."

"No!" Abi exclaimed, pushing herself to her feet and moving to pick up the detergent.

"Please, Abi. If you want an honest opinion, I'm going to give you one," Jay told her, waiting for her to turn around and look at him. But she didn't. Instead, she carried on fidgeting with things on the front desk until Jay could hear faint lyrics coming from her mouth. He didn't know the song, but he immediately loved it. Her voice was slightly shaky, what with her being nervous, but she grew stronger as she carried on.

" _And if you're still breathing, you're the lucky ones…'Cause most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs… Setting fire to our insides for fun… Collecting names of the lovers that went wrong… The lovers that went wrong."_

Jay felt himself feeling more for Abi as she continued singing. He couldn't understand why he was forced to hate someone so beautiful and amazing. He couldn't forgive himself for being so unkind to her over the year, but he would do anything to try to make it up to her. He had to form some kind of friendship with her. And he wouldn't mind if it became more. He was falling – no support, nothing to hold onto.

" _And if you're in love, then you are the lucky one… 'Cause most of us are bitter over someone… Setting fire to our insides for fun… To distract our hearts from ever missing them… But I'm forever missing him."_

She turned around reluctantly once she'd finished, not really wanting to see his reaction. It hadn't been her best performance – she was extremely nervous – but she didn't want him to laugh at her. Too many people laughed at her when it came to stuff like this. Her friends, sometimes even her family. She didn't want Jay to be like them. She wanted her instincts to be right about him. She wanted to be able to trust him.

"And you say you're not good enough," Jay laughed, making her blush. "That was amazing, Abi. And you shouldn't let yourself or anyone else tell you you're not good enough. I mean, you're _Abi Branning_. If people don't believe in you, then people like me have no hope in life."

"Thanks, Jay," she smiled, sitting down next to him and carrying on with her washing in content silence.

…

"…And then Phil starts yelling at this pigeon like, 'I just got this car cleaned and now you want to shit all over it!' Honestly, I was cracking up," Jay finished his story, Abi laughing so much that her stomach ached. Jay sighed, sitting down on the bench next to Abi, "Go on then. You're turn."

"What?" Abi asked, her laughter dying down.

"Tell me a story about how crazy your family is," Jay prodded, nudging her with his elbow.

"Oh, um, we're not really like that…" Abi said, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"What, you don't have fun with your family?" Jay laughed nervously.

"I have fun with Oscar," Abi was quick to reassure him. "One time, I was babysitting him and he came downstairs in a pair of Lauren's heels and mum's red lipstick smeared all over his face. I thought it was hilarious. He wore that lipstick better than I ever could," Abi smiled. Jay chuckled slightly, imagining the amount of trouble Oscar would have been in when his parents got home.

"What about you and Lauren?" He asked, knowing that when Ben wasn't being so uptight about everything (mainly the Brannings) he was actually really good to have a laugh with.

"Oh no," Abi laughed to herself. "Lauren's hated me from the minute I was born. I just try to stay out of her way."

"But you still lie for her?" Jay asked, not trying to me a dig, but instead actually being curious.

"She's still my sister. Even if she wishes I wasn't."

"And your parents?"

"No. They aren't the fun type," Abi sighed, pulling on her ponytail to tighten the band. She ignored the look Jay was giving her, asking her to carry on. She didn't want to tell him about all of her family problems when they were having such a nice night. She was really enjoying herself and she wasn't going to let her family ruin it. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Fire away," Jay replied, leaning back on his elbows.

"Why do our families hate each other?"

The question stumped Jay. He didn't really have a clear idea of what happened between the Mitchells and the Brannings, but apparently it wasn't pretty. Something to do with a huge fight between Phil and Max that Jay and Abi would have been too young to understand. He'd been bought up to hate the Brannings so he just went along with it. If he'd tried to get to know Abi before, maybe things would have been different.

"I don't really know," Jay answered honestly. "But just because our families hate each other, doesn't me that we have to."

"Seriously?" Abi asked.

"I've become quite fond of you, Miss Branning," he smiled, going to check on his washing.

…

Once their washing had finished, they were just chatting aimlessly while folding it and putting it into their bags. Abi told Jay about her school, about how the teachers were mental and that they gave her way too much homework. She told him about her dream of becoming a vet and he told her that he would love to be boxer. They even talked about the more mundane topics, like what their favourite film was and which celebrities they'd marry if they were given the chance. By the time they were finished, they'd laughed until they'd had tears streaming down their faces.

Jay helped Abi to her feet, knowing it hurt her to bend her legs. He pulled her up, and she was extremely close to him. She was basically stood on top of him. She stumbled slightly and he placed his hand on her waist to keep her upright. She looked up at him through her lashes, knowing that he was looking directly at her.

"I, um, I had fun tonight," he told her, watching her nod in agreement.

God knows what came over him, but leant forwards and brushed his lips against hers. It wasn't exactly a kiss, but it left Abi in a completely state of shock. Never in Abi's life had she been kissed before. Never in Abi's life did she think that her first kiss would be with Jay Mitchell. This was like a dream come true. She was so happy; she couldn't put it into words. She looked up at him, about to ask him why he did that, but he was already stepping away from her, looking like he'd made the biggest mistake of his life.

"S-Sorry. I-I've got to go," he stuttered, grabbing his bag and rushing out of the laundrette.

Abi stood there for a few more moments, thinking that maybe he'd come back and give her an explanation. When he didn't, she did as her Grandma had asked her to do. She locked up the laundrette behind her and walked home, wondering what she had done wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been two weeks – potentially the worst two weeks of her life. Not just because of Jay Mitchell – obviously, she wasn't that desperate. It just seemed like her life was spiralling out of control. Lauren's drinking had gotten worse. It was to the point now where her mum had started to notice. Abi couldn't remember the last time Lauren had gone a day without having a drink, let alone the last day Lauren had come home sober. Then there was the fact that Abi's dad was becoming more of a drop-in guest in their house than an actual member of the family. Abi knew something bad was going on – he'd come home stinking of perfume and cheap booze. And then there were her mum's secret phone calls that she'd been having with her cancer doctor. Even though Tanya hadn't specifically said anything about it, Abi was starting to think that maybe the cancer had come back. And yeah, on top of all that, Jay Mitchell was ignoring her. He acted like she didn't exist when she walked in the room and he didn't even join in when Ben took the piss out of her. He just acted like he could see right through her.

Speaking of Ben, that's why she found herself sat in the Head's office on a Friday afternoon. Technically, it wasn't her fault. If he hadn't have been so insulting about her mother's cancer, she wouldn't have had to backhand him and kick him in the balls in the middle of their science lesson. However, the Head didn't see it the way Abi saw it. That's why she was being suspended.

"You're a star pupil, Abi. Why would you let something someone said to you affect you this way?" The short, rounded woman asked across the desk from her, sweating in the September heat. Abi rolled her eyes. Of course Ben Mitchell would play the victim card and this would all be blamed on her.

"What, so you would just sit there and let someone say that the reason your mum had cancer was because God was punishing her for something?" Abi spat, not believing what she was hearing. He'd called her out in front of the entire class and it was quite obvious the teacher wasn't going to do anything about it. Sure, maybe it wasn't the right way to go about things, but she wasn't just going to sit there and take it. With the past fortnight she's had, she was ready to take on anyone.

"I will be speaking to Mr Mitchell later, but I can't allow you to remain on school premises with the possibility of you attacking someone else." Abi scoffed. She didn't want to go on a massacre – she just wanted to smash Ben's face in. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to call your father to come and get you."

"No, please don't call my dad," Abi pleaded, all of a sudden realising that this could get a lot worse than she realised it could. "You have my brother's number on there, right? Bradley? He'll come and get me. Just… Please don't call my dad."

The woman behind the desk sighed, but gestured for Abi to wait outside as she dialled Bradley's number. She couldn't deal with her dad's lecture right now. She was so tired and angry; she thought she was going to explode. That's why she just needed to talk to someone who never made Abi feel like she was in the wrong. She needed to speak to someone who listened and understood her. Bradley would know how to make things better – he always did.

…

Abi almost had cardiac arrest when Stacie Slater pulled up in front of the school. She was confused. Why hadn't Bradley come to pick her up? Had something bad happened? She nearly thought about walking back into the school to tell them that they'd rung the wrong person. Sure, Stacie was an emergency contact on her details, but she was only to be used as a last resort. That was until Stacie smiled at her through the window and nodded at her to get in.

"Alright, Abi?" Stacie asked, pulling out of the school grounds.

"What are you doing here?" Abi asked, feeling slightly relieved that it was Stacie who had picked her up. Stacie would never shout at Abi for misbehaving. That was what Stacie Slater lived for.

"What are you doing fighting at school?" Stacie retorted, sending Abi a sideways glance.

"I asked you first," Abi replied stubbornly.

"Bradley and I got into a fight. I said something stupid and so I've spent the whole day at his office trying to get him to talk to me. While he was out getting his lunch after ignoring me for the whole day, the phone rang to say that you were being suspended and that you needed picking up. I left him a note saying where I'd gone and came to pick you up. Now, back to my question."

"Ben Mitchell's a wanker," Abi muttered, crossing her arms across her chest. Stacie just laughed.

"Tell me something I don't know," she said, making Abi smile. "Come on. What did he do?"

"He asked my science teacher if the reason my mum got cancer was because she is a 'disgusting sinner' and this was God's way of punishing her," Abi said, using her fingers as quotation marks. Stacie let out a hard breath through her nose, lips pursed.

"And what did you do?"

"I backhanded him across the face and then kicked him in the balls," Abi replied, making both her and Stacie grin wildly at the image.

"That's my girl."

"What did you say to wind up Bradley?" Abi asked, turning the conversation back to the more pressing matter.

"I just brought up the past and he really didn't like it," Stacie sighed, slowing down the car as they came to a red light.

"What part of the past?" Abi continued cautiously, not wanting to push her luck.

"He was complaining about how I gave him too much responsibility over things in our relationship and how I need to start pulling my weight, so I told him that if he wanted someone that could walk all over him then he should have stayed with Sid because 'she did a pretty good job at it'," Stacie replied, mimicking Abi's finger quotation marks from earlier. Abi actually winced after Stacie told her what happened. Sid was not a good person to bring up in front of Bradley. Ever.

"It could have been worse," Abi tried to assure her, but Stacie just scoffed.

"How could things get worse than that?" She asked.

"You could have slept with my dad again," Abi joked, but Stacie definitely wasn't laughing.

"That's not funny, Abi," Stacie scolded, glaring at the road ahead of her.

"It's alright. I think someone already beat you to it," Abi mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," Abi sighed. "Sorry for bringing it up."

…

As soon as Abi walked into Bradley's office, she could feel the tension between him and Stacie. He glared at her, watching as she hung her head in shame and embarrassment. Abi rarely saw Bradley angry. He was always laughing and joking with her whenever they were together – and Abi loved spending time at his and Stacie's place. But, Abi could always tell when the pair weren't on good terms. The atmosphere was practically palpable – suffocating her.

"So you answer _my_ phone without _my_ permission and then go and pick up _my_ step-sister without even telling me?" Bradley seethed, rising out of his desk chair.

"I left you a note," Stacie mumbled, scraping her shoe against the floor. "And it seemed pretty urgent and I knew you were busy."

"Don't blame Stacie, Bradley. She was just trying to help you out," Abi butts in, trying to ease the situation.

"Stay out of it, Abi," Bradley orders, pointing at her. "We'll talk about this later," he growls, glaring at Stacie one last time before turning his full attention to the teenager. "Fighting? At school?"

"It's not as simple as that," Abi tried, but he obviously didn't want to hear it.

"And why didn't they call your dad to pick you up? Or is he dumping his kids on me now, too?"

That stung. A lot. Abi had never thought that Bradley had seen her as a burden. And she's never known him to lecture her without hearing her out first. He knew better than anyone what it was like to be seen as unimportant, to feel like the whole world is against him. She really thought he'd get it. She really thought she could pour her heart out to him. But apparently she was wrong.

"Bradley…" Stacie breathed, noticing the hurt on Abi's face.

"Dumped on you? _Dumped_?" Abi repeated, the anger bubbling away inside of her.

"I didn't mean it like that," Bradley sighed, but the damage was already done.

"No, you know what? I specifically asked them to call you because I thought you were the only person I could talk to, but maybe I shouldn't have bothered," she spat, tears pricking in her eyes. "I'm sorry I'm such a strain on your life. I'm sorry I waste so much of your time by wanting to talk to you or spend time with you or trust you."

"Abi, what-?" He tried to ask, concern filling his voice, but now Abi knew the truth.

"Don't worry, Bradley. I'll make sure I'm never _dumped_ on you ever again. I'll just stay far away," Abi finished, picking up her school bag and marching out the building. She would rather mope on the bus than sit in that office anyway.

…

Walking through the market, Abi tried to calm herself as she thought of a way she was going to explain this to her parents. If she told them what Ben had said, her dad would be round the Mitchell's house faster than you could say the word 'murder'. And she really didn't want to upset her mum – especially not if the cancer had come back. But, if she didn't tell them, she'd be grounded until the end of time. It was a lose-lose situation.

Her thoughts were cut off as Jay Mitchell raced out of the Vic, calling her name. Abi ignored him, but that didn't stop him from catching up with her. She didn't understand what had changed. He hadn't spoken to her for two weeks so why would he want to speak to her now? He grabbed her arm, but she yanked it out of his grip, glaring at him. He just sighed.

"It's Lauren," he said, and he didn't need to say anything else. She followed him back to the Vic, trying to mentally prepare herself for what her sister could be doing. No amount of preparation could have made her ready for that.

Lauren was stood on one of the tables, swaying her hips to imaginary music with a bottle of beer in each hand. She was plastered. She could barely stay upright and every time she stumbled, Abi's heart lurched out of her chest. Not to mention the fact that everyone's attention turned to her as soon as she walked in. Everyone thought she was a joke – that her family was a joke. And for the first time, she was starting to think they were right.

"Lauren, get down!" Abi hissed, pulling on her arm. Lauren pulled away, spilling half of her beer in the process.

"Come on, Abi! Dance with me! I love this song!" Lauren yelled, still dancing to the stunned silence.

"Lauren, I need to take you home," Abi replied through gritted teeth.

"Home? But the party's just started!" Lauren slurred, raising her drink to the people around her. Abi held her hand and watched as she clumsily jumped down from the table, putting her hands on Abi's shoulders to steady herself. Abi tried desperately to ignore the looks she was getting, but with so many people in the room it was getting difficult.

"Let's get you to bed, yeah?" Abi suggested, forcing a smile as she reached for one of Lauren's bottle.

"God, you're so boring!" Lauren exclaimed, laughing to herself. "Just because mum's got cancer again doesn't mean we all need to be so… Boring!" Abi winced as the words tumbled out of Lauren's mouth. Of course her mum would tell Lauren, but not Abi. Poor little Abi Branning couldn't handle hearing about her mum's illness. No, she needed to be shut off from the rest of the family. If not her heart might implode from all the sadness.

"We're going home," Abi ordered, ignoring the way people's faces (Jay's face) turned to concern and sympathy. Pity wasn't going to cure cancer, so they could shove it up their arses.

"Abi, no!" Lauren fought, twisting her limbs out of Abi's grip. "Abi, get off of me!" She continued, wrapping her palm around Abi's cheek.

The sound was deafening. Abi wasn't sure it had actually happened until she felt the sting on her face, sure that a handprint would appear soon. Hair spread across her face, her head turned to the side from the momentum. Her hand was stilled in the air, the fingernails digging into her palm as she tried to push away the tears.

"Now look what you made me do," Lauren muttered, not referring to Abi, but to the fact that she'd spilt one of her beers down herself. She was a mess and Abi wasn't so sure why she had to clear it up.

"I-I'll take her," Fatboy stuttered, slowly easing Lauren out of the pub.

"Wait! My phone!" Lauren called over her shoulder.

"I've got it," Abi whispered, moving to the bar to collect the rest of Lauren's things. The other punters turned away, gossiping about the event that had just taken place. Abi tried to ignore them, the tears falling from her eyes without her permission.

"Abi-" Jay tried, walking towards her and reaching out for her. She lifted her arms in surrendering position, stepping away from him.

"Don't, Jay. Just don't," she told him, the tears flowing faster now.

"About the other night-"

"Save it. You know, I thought I could trust you. I thought we could be friends. But you've really fucked everything up, haven't you?" Abi said, taking in a shaky breath. She ignored the way Jay was looking at her, the concern and remorse in his eyes. "Just carry on doing what you've been doing for the past two weeks – pretending I don't exist." And with that, she barged past him like he was nothing, thinking that would be the end of it. Boy was she wrong…


	7. Chapter 7

Abi hadn't spoken to her sister in a week. Or Jay. She hadn't been able to look her mother in the eye and her dad hadn't even been home – "away on business." She'd avoided Bradley at every possible encounter, even though he had desperately followed her around the square until she managed to find a safe place to hide. Other than Oscar, the only person she would talk to was Stacie – and sometimes Fatboy, who looked out for her like the good honorary big brother he was. That's who she was currently sat with on the swings, quietly eating a bag of chips he'd bought for her as he swung silently next to her, eating a box of chicken nuggets. He was worried about her; he'd witnessed Lauren's state and heard what she'd said about her mum, now Abi was blocking everyone out and locking herself away, choosing to revise in the darkness of her bedroom rather than meet up with her friends. He'd noticed her new routine: go to the café for a cup of tea, go to school, get back from school, avoid everyone, and walk home. It was like over the past week she'd turned into a completely different person – not one that he liked as much as the happy Abi he knew.

"How's Lauren?" He asked, breaking the silence and looking over at her.

She shrugged, kicking her legs forwards and backwards to keep the steady pace she was going at. The truth was Abi didn't know how Lauren was. She got up to go to school before Lauren was awake and didn't try to speak to her when she got back, instead shutting her bedroom door and only letting Oscar in her room after he did the special knock she'd taught him. Her mum was in and out all the time, presumably going to her doctor's appointments that Abi wasn't supposed to know about. She didn't seem to notice (or if she did, care) about the obvious atmosphere in the house, the only conversation she'd had with her daughters in days being shouted up the stair and normally being something to with dinner. In all honesty, Abi felt completely and utterly alone. Either unwanted or left out of the circle – a burden. She pitied Fatboy for forcing her to go for lunch with him today – she didn't want to put stress on him just by existing like she seemed to have on everybody else.

"Come on, Abi. Talk to me," Fatboy urged, sounding genuinely concerned.

"What do you want to know?" Abi replied.

"What's going on? Why are you being different?"

She wanted to tell him everything, about Lauren's drinking problem, about her dad not being there, about her mum's secret doctor's appointments, about Bradley thinking she was a burden, about Jay… But what was the point? It wasn't like Fatboy could do anything about it. She was stuck in this hole whether she like it or not until the universe decided to flip and things started looking up.

"I'm just having a hard time at the minute," she mumbled, eyes downcast onto her chips that she'd suddenly lost her appetite for.

"Well, if you don't talk about it, I can't help you," Fatboy sighed, getting up and crouching in front of her, holding the metal chains of the swing to get it to stop. "Don't your trust me?"

"Of course I do," Abi promised, sighing in distress. "I just-"

Abi was cut off by the sound of Fatboy's ringtone, the distinct beat of 'Baseline Junkie' blaring from his Samsung's speakers. He sighed, reluctantly pulling his phone out of his pocket and angrily answering it. He looked at Abi, wondering if it would be better to just throw his phone away and focus on the task at hand, but she smiled sweetly at him and he had a glimmer of hope that the Abi he knew would soon come back.

"Yeah, Tam?.. Alright… Alright, bruv, I'm coming!.. Okay! Bye!" Fatboy spoke down the phone to only who Abi could presume was Tamwar. Once the conversation was over, he looked back up at Abi with sad eyes. "Listen, Abs, I've got-"

"It's alright," she started, forcing a smile. "I best be going anyway. You know, things to do, places to be." Lie. Lie, lie, lie. That's all Abi seemed to do these days.

"Look, if anything happens, you ring me, alright?" He ordered, standing up and hugging her tight. Abi wished she could stay like that forever – with someone who actually cared about her showing her some love. "Love you, titch," he whispered.

"Love you too, Fats," Abi replied, feeling like she could have cried right there and then. She kept herself together, slapping him on the back and pulling away. "Go on you. Tam will be frothing at the mouth by now."

He saluted her and left. She was alone once again. She sat on the swing for a while longer, eating a few more chips before realising how pathetic this probably looked, scrunching up the bag and throwing it in the bin. A waste. A bit like her. She didn't actually have anywhere else to be, so she walked down the back alleys instead of through The Square in hopes of avoiding another near encounter with Bradley. However, what she didn't expect to see what Ben Mitchell getting the absolute living shit kicked out of him by three lads she vaguely recognized from her school.

"Stupid gay fag!" One of them exclaimed, sending a hefty blow to Ben's ribs.

Abi gasped, mainly at the assault that was being carried out on Ben, but also by the foul names he was being called. She couldn't believe it. Ben Mitchell? _Gay_? It didn't offend her or repulse her (like it seemed to offend and repulse the trio of thugs) but it just seemed to be very out of character for the boy who had spent the last seventeen years of her life torturing her. How stereotypical of her.

"Stop!" Abi screamed in a strangled tone, surprising herself at her forwardness. All eyes turned to her immediately, even Ben's half-conscious ones, a mouthful of bloody saliva dribbling out of his mouth in gloopy strings and dripping onto the cobblestones. The ruffians moved slowly towards her and she managed to make out the face of Nathan Clayton in the darkness – a boy who Ben had had multiple occasions of trouble with before.

"'Ello, sweetheart," One of them laughed, looking Abi up and down. She wanted to run, scream for help. Maybe Fatboy would hear if she was loud enough. People had always said she had a gob on her. But she couldn't. In that moment, with them towering over her, she couldn't do anything. She was frozen with fear and, shockingly, determination. As much as she hated (well, Abi didn't _hate_ anyone. 'Dislike,' was the word was the word she meant) Ben Mitchell, three against one was hardly fair.

"Why don't you run along before you break a nail?" The other unknown musketeer piped up, laughing along with the other two.

"N-No," Abi stuttered, clearing her throat. "No," she said in a sterner tone, looking up at them with a grit she didn't know she had. "Leave me alone. Leave _Ben_ alone."

"Aw, has someone got a little crush on our mate Ben?" Nathan laughed, the other two quickly joining in. Abi's cheeks reddened with anger and embarrass; she had the dying urge to correct them that it certainly didn't _look_ like Ben was one of their 'mates.' "Sorry, doll. Ben doesn't play for our team."

"Whatever team you're on, I don't want to be a part of," Abi scoffed, a newfound confidence surfacing.

"You're a lesbian then?" One of the unknown laughed, taking a step closer and playing with a strand of her hair with his dirty fingers. "You just haven't had the right man, babe. I could show you a good time."

Abi took her chance, placing a well-aimed kick to his balls and elbowing him in the back of the neck as he hunched over. Abi had never taken any sort of self-defence classes, but she'd watched enough Jackie Chan movies with her dad to pick up on a few things – like how elbows are very good at inflicting pain.

The other two looked in complete shock and she was sure she probably looked the same, glances moving between the groaning body on the floor and the people who were still standing. As the surprise wore off, the standing unknown pulled out a penknife, pointing it threateningly at Abi as Nathan pulled the other one to his feet.

"Go on," Abi said, adrenaline still rushing through her like machine tanks on a mission. "Do it," she encouraged, opening her arms to give him a clear target. He looked at her like she'd gone mad and everyone seemed to hold their breath as the offer stood completely exposed. After a few moments, the tension slowly fading, Abi just laughed. "Oh wait, you haven't got the guts."

Growling under his breath, the boy swung his arm forward and slashed the knife along her cheek, blood quickly rushing to the wound and trickling down her face. It was only a scratch, Abi could tell, as she raised her hand to her face and saw only a small smear of blood as she pulled it away. It was enough to shock her, though, and she was no longer as confident as she had been before. She now knew what he could do.

"You don't say anything about us," the boy ordered with a shaky voice, waving the knife around in every direction. "If you even mention us to anyone important, we'll hunt you down and kill you, alright?" Abi could only nod, the fear in her starting to overpower her confidence.

They scuttled away like the creatures they were and Abi moved quickly to Ben's side. He had a few bruises, but any other injuries must have been internal. There was an extreme amount of blood in his mouth and when she opened it wider, she could see more bubbling away at the back of his throat. She checked his ears and nose for any signs of blood and was glad to see there wasn't. She checked his pupils for any serious enlargement, but found that they looked pretty average. She even managed to get him to follow her finger to make sure there were no severe head injuries. Although Abi wanted to be a vet, she knew a thing of two about first aid. The thick, deep crimson blood flowing out of his mouth suggested to her that something in his stomach had ruptured. She opened his cheeks wide and scooped blood out of his mouth, trying to clear his airways at the same time as making sure she didn't move him too much.

"Ben? Ben, listen to me, okay? I'm going to call an ambulance," she told him clearly, fishing for her phone out of her jean pocket. As she put the phone to her ear, she noticed he started to become less awake by the second.

"Blood," Ben gargled groggily, eye lids fluttering open and closed.

"Yes, but it's okay. I'm getting help," he she quickly assured him as she got through to someone on the emergency services line. "Hello?.. Yes, ambulance, please… Albert Square, Walford… A boy's been severely beaten and I think he may have some internal bleeding… Abi Branning…"

"No," Ben choked out barley through the dense gloop filling his mouth. He raised his hand slowly to her cheek and wiped sloppily at the cut. "Blood," he said again before his eyes closed and he was gone.


End file.
